Man who scares off doggers faces eviction by local council

A man faces eviction from a quiet village despite being credited for scaring off doggers and fly-tippers.

Shaun Hicks, 63, who lives with his family live a stone’s throw away from Martin’s van, said: ‘Before he was living there cars used to get dumped, burned out, all sorts of rubbish was being chucked there.

‘Cars would pull up there throughout the night too, we never were sure why or what they would be doing.

‘Kids used to go there to smoke, there was always something going on there. He’s good as gold as far as I am concerned. He minds his own business.

‘He is very friendly and approachable. He’s just a decent human being choosing to live the way he does and I think we should respect that.’

But the local council says people have complained about Martin’s presence, raising concerns about waste disposal and fires he lights.

Now Norfolk Council has told Martin and his terrier biscuit to leave.

That means an imminent end to the life he’s made the cabbages, courgettes and runner beans he grows.

Martin, who uses the facilities of nearby pubs and businesses, said: ‘The council people who come say that I need to be put in a house, to which I say “no thank you”.

‘I don’t want to live in a house, otherwise I would have chosen that life years ago. They just don’t get it.

‘But I really hope they realise that I am an honest and approachable man who is merely minding my own business and who saves the council trouble.

‘I do think it is harsh that they are trying to get rid of me. I do everything to keep the lane tidy and accessible for walkers.’

Any move from his current spot brings uncertainty, and the possibility that he faces in the future what he’s suffered in the past.

Before settling on Sandy Lane, Martin said he faced ‘constant harassment’, including having eggs thrown at his fan, in previous rural spots around Yarmouth.

Martin said: ‘Though I have pastoral views across the fields and it feels remote, here I am just 50 metres from a row of houses.

‘This makes me feel far safer than I have encountered in the 25 years I have been living freely and self-sufficiently with nature.

‘And truly people here in Belton largely have been very welcoming and really nice. It is a lovely community here.

‘Obviously you are not going to please everyone, I am aware of that and respect people’s views, but most people have been so kind which has helped make me feel at home.’

That’s the view of one nearby resident, a man in his 70s who wants to stay anonymous. He said: ‘Look at all the work he has put in to keep it tidy here.

‘We should be thanking him and respecting him for being selfless and minding his own business.

‘I think it will be difficult to find someone along the lane who has an issue with him.’,